Wine 1.5.5 released

The Wine development release 1.5.5 is now available.

What's new in this release (see below for details):

- Support for installing Mono as a Wine add-on package.
- Dithering of pattern brushes in the DIB engine.
- Support for installing the .NET 4.0 runtime.
- DDS files supported in D3DX9.
- Various bug fixes.

The source is available from the following locations:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/wine/wine-1.5.5.tar.bz2 http://mirrors.ibiblio.org/wine/source/1.5/wine-1.5.5.tar.bz2

For the complete list of bug fixes follow this link:

http://www.winehq.org/announce/1.5.5

Because We May

http://www.becausewemay.com/index.html

For one week, and one week only, "Because We May" project gives you the chance to get around 400 games on sale for iOS, Android, Mac, Steam and.... Linux!!!
Any example?

- Darwinia: 66% discount, from 15$ to 5$!
- Braid: 75% discount, from 20$ to 5$!
- Frozen Synapse: 50% discount: from 25$ to 12,5$!

..And many, many more!

Don't waste this chance! You have a week to get a bunch of awesome games for a very little price!

http://www.becausewemay.com/index.html

PlayOnLinux 4.1 released

Sorry for the lack of news about it!
PlayOnLinux 4.1 has been released.
Here's the changelog:


- PlayOnLinux can open documents, and manage extensions
- A new debugger
- A new configure window
- Optirun support
- System check on startup
- Lot of bug fixed (proxy settings, cdrom problems, wget, ...)
- UTF-8 problems fixed
- Install window : you can see the screenshots in big size by clicking on it
- A bug for Ubuntu 12.04 users that prevented PlayOnLinux from running is fixed
- Bugfix : POL prevented wine from running when the .exe was installed in a bad filesystem (instead of just alerting)
- Wine architectures problem should be fixed
- Ability to run custom commands before starting a program or a game
- Bugs fixed : 72, 561
- 64bits prefixes creation support


Download it from:


http://www.playonlinux.com/en/download.html

Screenshot of the week #10

"Shut the f**k up! I'm watching my favourite tv show!" - Max Payne 2 - 1920x1080 - Max details

Screenshot of the week #9

"Cinematic point-of-view of Max Payne" - Max Payne - 1920x1080 - Max details

Wine 1.5.4 released

The Wine development release 1.5.4 is now available.

What's new in this release (see below for details):
  - A new DirectSound resampler.
  - A Negotiate authentication provider.
  - OpenGL support in the DIB engine.
  - Beginnings of support for .NET mixed assemblies.
  - Support routines for Internationalized Domain Names.
  - Various bug fixes.

The source is available from the following locations:

  http://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/system/emulators/wine/wine-1.5.4.tar.bz2
  http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/wine/wine-1.5.4.tar.bz2

For the complete bug fixes list follow this link:

http://www.winehq.org/announce/1.5.4

Screenshot of the week #8

"Who the hell left a voodoo doll on the floor? Those kids..." - Metro 2033 - 1920x1080 - High details

How to Get Into Video Game Design as a Career

Passion, brilliance and dedication. These three virtues define a video game designer. A designer needs passion for developing video games. An individual must be brilliant to showcase his talents, and he must also be dedicated to complete his tasks. Most avid gamers feel passionate about their hobby, making for a decent start, but without the other two traits, starting a career as a designer is next to impossible.
Most designers attend specialized school, gain exposure to the industry and learn programming code or animation. A student studying multimedia design (see here) has a great start, while the individual working as a quality tester does too. Certain steps will help an individual kickstart a career into the industry while others will be a waste.

Passion for Games

If you like video games, consider a career change. You have to love games. You must display an overzealous attitude about your hobby. You must talk about the hobby. Know information about the latest trends. Watch as developers gain access to new build engines. You not only have to love games, but the software and technology that helps build a game.
Passion will propel you to overcome obstacles. Passion will support you when you’re struggling in school. Passion will even help you showcase your talents as a designer. Remember, you will struggle to get into the industry, but if you’re passionate enough, you’ll find your way in.

What Type of Designer Do You Want to Be?

Game design is a broad term that encompasses a range of professions including game play programmers, animation artists, quality testers, software engineers, environment artist, concept artist, and on and on and on. Your skill set should determine the type of career path you choose.
For instance, a strong math and coding background will prepare you to follow in the footsteps of a game play programmer, while your acclaimed drawing skills will be perfect for animation. If you have a range of different skills, pick one to focus and improve on to help elevate your abilities. Take programming courses. Practice drawing techniques. Expose yourself to new software. Develop your skills and you’ll see your skills improve.

Education

All game designers come from respected universities, colleges and online courses. Each designer has a degree in some specialized field, from programming to engineering. If you ever wish to get started in this industry, your passion for games must be as prodigious as your intellect. Excel in your studies and watch as your career begins to take shape. While in college, join programming clubs; apply for an internship; perfect your craft anyway you can. If you are not sure as to what program you might want to choose, visit accredited-online-colleges.org for more information.

Gain more Exposure

Every game designer gets his start somewhere at the bottom. Most become game testers; you know, the people who get to play games for a living. The profession is prosaic. Still, a game tester does help a person gain exposure, even if an individual is spending 40 plus hours a week finding bugs in a game. However you gain exposure, you’ll need some experience to help kick start your game design career.

Sources

O*net Online
BLS